Monday, December 21, 2015

'Whals in the Woods: Parent Dances

One of the first concerts Mr. Narwhal and I ever went to was an acoustic Ben Harper show. It was a pretty epic night. A couple got engaged in the front row, and Ben proceeded to sing Foreverto them. During the concert he also shared the story behind his song When She Believes. He explained that mothers and their children have a pre-existing love and connection, but fathers have to work at it and eventually their children fall in love with them. He told the audience that he wrote the song about the moment when he knew his daughter loved him. I remember thinking that one day I would dance with my dad on Mr. Narwhal and I's wedding day to that very song. My dad didn't have a specific song he wanted to dance to, so I surprised him with this song, and shared the story behind the song while we were dancing.

Sometimes I'm a bit too poetic for my own good, and in hind sight I would have instructed them to fade out the song after a few minutes, because it got pretty long at the end. Not to fear, my mom joined in for a few family spins around the dance floor too (which I don't have a better picture of!).

Mr. Narwhal's mom didn't pick a song for their dance because she wanted a surprise. We spent many hours discussing song choices, as it's hard to find a song to dedicate to the woman that raised you. In the end we narrowed it down to two songs. The runner up was Lynyrd Skynyrd's Simple Man, it has such lovely lyrics, but is a very very long song. So, in the final days before the wedding, Mr. Narwhal decided to go with Wildflowers by Tom Petty. I think it was the perfect choice as a dedication to his mom, and I know this was a moment she will cherish forever.

I love the lighting in this photo

After our parent dances, the band took the stage for their first set and the dance party got started!